Men at Arms

Terry Pratchett

Average Rating 8/10 (1 Review)

'Be a man in the City Watch! The City Watch needs men!'

But what it has got includes Corporal Carrot (technically a Dwarf), Lance-constable Cuddy (really a Dwarf), Lance-constable Detritus (a troll), Lance-constable Angua (a woman...most of the time) and Corporal Nobbs (disqualified from the human race for shoving).

And they need all the help they can get. Because there's evil in the air and murder afoot and something very nasty in the streets.

It'd help if it could all be sorted out by noon, because that's when Captain Vimes is officially retiring, handing in his badge and getting married.

And since this is Ankh-Morpork, noon promises not just to be high, but stinking.

Review by Chrissi (310501) Rating (8/10)

Review by Chrissi
Rating 8/10
This is the second of the Discworld series about the men of the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch. In Guards!Guards! we met Vimes, Colon and Nobbs, who were joined by Carrot (who was technically a dwarf.)

The opening of Men at Arms sees new recruits Angua (a werewolf), Detritus and Cuddy joining the ranks, although being troll and dwarf, they are more likely to get into trouble fighting each other than they are solving crimes.

And there are crimes, there are a series of puzzling murders which seem to centre on the Assassins Guild, the difference being that these are non-sanctioned deaths, if you appreciate the distinction. Samuel Vimes is getting ready to stand down from the watch when he marries Sybil Ramkin, but he cannot leave these crimes unsolved.

Even when the Patrician tells him in no uncertain terms that he must not investigate, he continues, he is a policeman, and that is what he does. He does so in the inimitable Vimes fashion, with aid from Carrot, whose affinity with the general populace of Ankh-Morpork is truly astounding.

Men at Arms also features Gaspode, the small, scruffy dog who is also much more than he seems. He is one of many delights in this story, with lots of the "woof!!" and "bark!!" comments that make you smile, a bit that I loved was where he threatened a gargoyle that if it didn't help him get back to ground level, he would widdle in its ear.

I loved this book, I have a great affection for the Watch, almost as much as the witches, and this book confirmed this. It is a mystery with an assortment of sub-stories, I loved the bit where Detritus and Cuddy are locked in the Pork Futures warehouse... you will know it, it really made me laugh.
Chrissi (31st May 2001)